The scientific session on the topic “Samad Vurgun and folklore: national identity and mother language” dedicated to the 120^th anniversary of the birth of the People’s Poet Samad Vurgun was held at the Institute of Folklore of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences.

At the beginning of the event the poems recited in his own language by People’s Poet Samad Vurgun were shown to the participants in the form of a video clip.

The session, held in accordance with the Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, “On the celebration of the 120^th anniversary of Samad Vurgun” was opened with an introductory speech by Hikmat Guliyev, Director of the Institute of Folklore and Doctor of Sciences in Philology. He mentioned that this Decree signed by the head of state was of special importance in terms of studying and promoting the rich poetic heritage of the great poet.

Hikmat Guliyev also noted in his speech that the study of Samad Vurgun’s poetic heritage was of particular importance not only within the field of literary studies, but also from the perspective of folklore studies. According to him, the poet’s activity is a vivid example of how folklore traditions acquire new artistic forms in written literature and this feature provided important scholarly material for understanding the developmental dynamics of the Azerbaijani literary process.

At the end of his speech, the scholar noted that Samad Vurgun’s activity could be regarded as an individual performative discourse reflecting the emotional-expressive expression of collective cultural memory and popular consciousness. Because the poet’s poetic world was formed at the intersection of folklore and written literature, becoming an artistic and poetic embodiment of the people’s spiritual values and national identity.

The employees of the Institute such as Doctor of Sciences in Philology Leyla Mammadova, PhD, associate professor Ilhama Gasabova, PhD, associate professor Atif Islamzade, PhD Khayala Aghayeva made reports about the poet’s activity.

At the end of the scientific session the discussions were held on the topic.